


Lean on Me

by IAmStoryteller



Category: Black Clover - Tabata Yuki (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Late Night Conversations, Male-Female Friendship, Near Death Experiences, Nightmares, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:47:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29660580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IAmStoryteller/pseuds/IAmStoryteller
Summary: A story exploring the unlikely frienship between Mimosa Vermillion and Yuno.
Relationships: Mimosa Vermillion & Yuno
Comments: 11
Kudos: 18





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yuno and Mimosa friendship  
> canon compliant, spoilers for up through the Reincarnation Arc  
> The first and second chapters take places after the Reincarnation Arc and just before Mimosa goes to the Heart Kingdom with Asta, Nero, Finral and Noelle
> 
> I've been obsessing over this for a while. As you all know, I enjoy my many ships in Black Clover, but I also love platonic and familial relationships.
> 
> Maybe many won't read this, because it's not a romantic ship, but who cares?
> 
> Yuno & Mimosa BrOTP Supremacy
> 
> This story was completely unplanned.

_Lean on me_

_When you're not strong_

_And I'll be your friend_

_I'll help you carry on..._

_For it won't be long_

_Till I'm gonna need somebody to lean on_

_Please swallow your pride_

_If I have things you need to borrow_

– “Lean on Me” by Bill Withers

Yuno slipped out of his bedroom. Bell slept peacefully on his pillow with a little blanket Sister Lily had made for her on his last trip out to Hage. The middle of the night at the Golden Dawn Headquarters was quiet. Everyone always retired to their rooms—unless they were on patrol duty. After all, they all had hobbies outside of being a Magic Knight.

Yuno had woken up that night famished. He intended to go to the kitchens and get something to eat. Ever since the possession by the half-elf son of Licht and Tetia, Yuno needed more food to sustain his mana use. He walked quietly as possible so as not to disturb anyone or get bothered by the patrol that evening. If it was David or Letoile, it’d be fine but Yuno didn’t feel like a lecture from Klaus. He also didn’t want to deal with his annoying Vice-Captain or anyone else that still looked at him like he was scum on their boots.

He quickened his pace when he remembered that it was, in fact, Siren and Hamon on duty and while they were okay, Yuno still felt awkward around them. He turned the corner and he had sight of the courtyard, meaning that he was nearly at the kitchens.

Yuno spotted the head of vermillion hair instantly—eyes were always drawn to the brightest color. Yuno stopped walking and observed Mimosa. In her nightgown and no shoes, she sat on the bench near the fountain, her knees were pulled to her chest and her head leaned on her knees. 

Grimacing, Yuno momentarily thought to run straight to the kitchen and not look back, but the way her shoulders shook, though there was no sound of crying, made him choose instead to walk out to the courtyard.

He approached Mimosa cautiously so as not to startle her.

“Mimosa,” said Yuno.

Mimosa untangled herself from her fetal position and furiously wiped her face, as if he wouldn’t notice that she had been in tears. “Hi, Yuno,” said Mimosa, softly, looking at him. 

Her eyes were red from crying, her cheeks were blotchy and pale, and there were dark circles under Mimosa’s eyes. And dark circles didn’t just appear after one bad night of sleep, Yuno knew from his experience with Asta. 

Yuno had never been one to beat around the bush, but also someone who was bad at comforting others. He asked, “What’s wrong?”

Mimosa shook her head, smiling wobbly. She said, “Nothing. I’m okay.”

Yuno narrowed his eyes. Worry etched itself in his heart. He held out his hand, reminded of the times when Asta had comforted Yuno and the other kids at the orphanage. “Let’s get some tea.”

Mimosa looked at him for a moment, before grabbing his hand. They didn’t say anything as Yuno led Mimosa to the kitchens. _Asta had made comforting someone look easy,_ Yuno thought to himself. Yuno led Mimosa to one of the stools at the counter, where many ate breakfast. The kitchen was a communal area—those who had culinary skills had been in charge of the cooking for the squad.

He quickly busied himself by heating up some water for tea and finding the tin of ginger-snap cookies that Asta’s squad-mate Charmy sent him. The pint-sized chef was very kind, sending sweets to Yuno regularly. He wondered what the heck Asta told her that made her want to do that for him. Mimosa sat quietly, watching him as he fetched to mugs.

The kettle whistled and Yuno poured two cups. He placed them on the counter, sliding on towards Mimosa. He placed the tin of ginger-snap cookies in front of her too. He sat on the stool. 

Mimosa smiled gratefully and took a sip of the tea.

“Did you have a nightmare,” Yuno asked.

Placing the mug back down, Mimosa averted her eyes. And since she was a bad liar, she mumbled, “Yes.”

Yuno took a cookie from the tin and ate it. Then he sipped his tea. “There’s no shame in having a nightmare.”

“I know,” said Mimosa, nodding. “I just wish that it’d stop.”

As suspected, Mimosa must have had trouble sleeping lately. And considering everything that the Magic Knights went through recently with the Eye of the Midnight Sun, the Elves’ Reincarnation and Zagred the Word-Devil, it made sense. Yuno, too, had been bothered by recent events. He had been very close to his body being hijacked.

“Talking about it helps,” said Yuno, remembering the late nights back in Hage when Yuno would whisper his nightmares to Asta, who held his hand and told him that he’d beat up any nasty nightmare.

Mimosa bobbed her head left to right and hesitantly said, “It’s usually one of two nightmares. The first one is Licht killing you and Asta in that cave.”

“It was a close call,” Yuno admitted. Licht nearly killed them all before his consciousness woke up properly. “But Asta and I aren’t so weak that we die that easily.”

“Yeah,” said Mimosa, agreeing. “I know, but that doesn’t mean I don’t worry about you.”

Yuno took another sip of his tea, while Mimosa ate a ginger-snap cookie. He studied Mimosa’s face. The color was slowly coming back to her face. Yuno asked, “What’s the other nightmare?

Mimosa hummed non-committedly. “That I died on that cross before you woke up and Asta arrived.”

“Oh.”

He remembered the day, as it only had been barely two weeks ago when some other soul attempted to take over his body, while he had watched in horror as his possessed team defeated Mimosa and tied her to a steel cross. The half-elf son of Licht and Tetia’s soul had been very stubborn, but Yuno managed to push him down with his own willpower just as Asta arrived, but if Asta hadn’t showed up when he did, Mimosa would have died.

And if she had, it would have eaten him alive from the inside. And if she had died, Klaus and Hamon would have never forgiven themselves either.

Mimosa gripped her tea mug. “It makes me feel like Captain Vangeance hadn’t really wanted me in the squad and that I was just supposed to be the sacrifice for Patri’s revenge.”

What did one say to that? Yuno said, in all seriousness. “You belong here. You’re the best Healing Magic user in a generation, Mimosa. I don’t think Patri influenced Captain Vangeance that much.” 

After all, what would Yuno have done without Mimosa here in the Golden Dawn? She had been the only one that hadn’t shunned him. Her awkward, bumbling initial attempts to be friends with him hadn’t originally been appreciated as he had been wary of anyone new, but she never failed to try to include him in non-mission activities, like her trips into the city for sweet shop runs and shopping for clothes. She always offered to train with him. She healed him all the time. Mimosa had been his mission partner from the start. 

She had been shy and clumsy at first, but as her confidence grew as she grew stronger as a Magic Knight, Mimosa had become the truest friend he had made on his own without Asta’s help.

“I don’t know. I just didn’t want to use my family name to help me succeed,” Mimosa admitted. “It’s why I didn’t join the Crimson Lions, though my spot there would have been secured. I had really thought that Captain Vangeance thought that I had value beyond my last name.”

“I know,” said Yuno. She had told him that after the Dungeon Exploration mission. Mimosa ate another cookie. “We should talk to Captain Vangeance.”

Mimosa shook her head, swallowing the bit of cookie she ate. “I wouldn’t want to bother him.”

“His actions of enabling Patri led to you nearly getting sacrificed and the Kingdom destroyed,” said Yuno. He took a long sip of his tea. “He owes you an explanation for your worries.”

“I…don’t want to upset him. He feels very guilty already,” said Mimosa, gently.

Yuno gave her a stern look. “And we all would have died in that other realm if you weren’t there. So, yeah, he owes you. I’ll come with you.”

Mimosa smiled, bottom lip trembling as she sniffled. “Yeah, okay. Thanks.”

“Anytime,” said Yuno. And he meant it.

_~to be continued_


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mimosa has a chat with William

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the several comments. I really am having fun writing this--Mimosa and Yuno's dynamic is fun.

Mimosa was a little embarrassed about last night. She honestly hadn’t meant to be out of her room so long that she had got caught crying over her nightmares. Thankfully, it had only been Yuno that found her and not anyone else. She would have never lived it down if it was another member of the squad who had found her. Yuno, despite his stoicism, was very empathetic and understanding.

But Yuno was also very stubborn. It was a fact that she had been constantly reminded of every day she knew Yuno.

That morning, she, Yuno and Klaus made bacon, egg, and tatoes (with scallions and red peppers for flavor) in a skillet with their tea (for Mimosa), orange juice (for Yuno) and coffee (for Klaus). According to Yuno, skillet tatoes were usually what he ate for breakfast back in Hage with the occasional egg thrown in when they had access to fresh eggs. According to Klaus, his mother always made bacon everyday with breakfast, since she claimed it was for “hearty” men. Mimosa was a bit more mindful of nutrition, so they made it a habit to attempt to make the best version of their childhood favorite dishes when they had the time. (Breakfast was always an adventure).

After breakfast, however, Klaus had to go with David to pick up book orders from the local bookshop in the city nearby the headquarters, leaving Mimosa and Yuno with orders to go to the training room. Except, Yuno had other ideas.

“Are we really doing this now,” asked Mimosa, wringing her hands together.

“Yes,” said Yuno, as he guided her with a push of his wind magic towards Captain Vangeance’s office. 

“Yuno,” whined Bell. The tiny Wind Spirit laid on Yuno’s shoulder. “What are we doing spending time with this girl again?! I wanna go on a date!!”

“Be quiet, Bell,” said Yuno, unaffected. “And Mimosa has a name.”

Mimosa covered her mouth with her hand, so Bell didn’t see Mimosa giggle. Yuno and Bell’s dynamic was so funny to her. She cleared her throat and remembered that Yuno pushed her towards Captain Vangeance’s office still. “Are you…gonna come in with me?” 

Yuno stopped walking and asked, “Do you want me to?”

She nodded in affirmation, though Mimosa didn’t want to seem like a little kid, but asking her Captain, who she respected, if he actually wanted her in the squad was more than nerve-wracking. 

What if…What if he just wanted her in the squad because of Patri? Was she gonna have to leave? Would she have to ask for a transfer? If she had to, what squad would she go to? Not her brother’s that’s for sure, but maybe the Black Bulls, but Mimosa didn’t know if she could be around them long term with their dynamic personalities. Besides, she didn’t want to intrude for Noelle’s sake. It was the place that Noelle belonged and as much as Mimosa liked the idea of getting to spend more time with her cousin and Asta, she had a feeling that she’d just get in the way.

“Breathe, Mimosa,” said Yuno, patting her on the head, awkwardly.

She let out of breath that she didn’t know she was holding. Her heart pounded in her chest. She clasped her hands together. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize for something that you can’t help,” said Yuno, pointedly. 

“Right,” said Mimosa. Her instinct was always to apologize in order to diffuse situations. That merely came from her life in the Vermillion House as a royal woman. She smiled at Yuno. “Thanks. I think I’m ready.”

Suddenly, she had Bell in her face. Bell had red cheeks from anger. “Hey, missy, don’t you dare think to move in on my Yuno!” 

Yuno quickly swiped Bell out of the air. He held her up to his face and said, “In the grimoire, Bell.”

“But Yuno…!”

“Bell. Now,” Yuno ordered.

“Fine. But let’s go on a date later.”

“Bell,” Yuno said in his no-nonsense voice.

Bell harrumphed and disappeared back into Yuno’s grimoire. Yuno let out a small sigh. “Troublesome.”

“She loves you, Yuno,” said Mimosa, amused.

“I can’t speak to a woman or, well, Asta without her butting in,” said Yuno, pointing out the obvious.

Mimosa smiled, trying not to laugh. 

Yuno narrowed his eyes. “We’re still going to see the Captain.”

She knew that (she pouted a bit anyway), so they continued to walk through the halls of headquarters until they reached the Captain’s office. While most Golden Dawn meetings took place in the room affectionately called “Captain’s Throne Room,” Captain Vangeance did have a regular office where he did paperwork and worked with their prickly Vice-Captain. Mimosa breathed in and out as Yuno knocked on the mahogany door.

“Come in!”

Yuno and Mimosa entered the office. Captain Vangeance sat at his desk. More and more, he opted to not wear his mask, at least, around the headquarters. He still wore it when he went out. Captain Vangeance smiled gently at them. “Yuno, Mimosa, what can I do for you?”

Mimosa looked at Yuno, who stared impassively at her.

With Yuno at her back, Mimosa looked at Captain Vangeance and said, “I want to talk about…um, the, um, elf situation.”

Captain Vangeance immediately stood up and she heard the guilt in his tone, “Of course, Mimosa. Will Yuno be staying?”

“Yes,” said Yuno.

“Very well, do you want to sit,” Captain Vangeance asked, awkwardly, gesturing to the couch where everyone knew Captain took naps, though he denied it.

Mimosa shook her head. “I just want to get it out.”

“Alright,” said Captain Vangeance. “Please let it out.”

Mimosa breathed out and said, “While I had been in the Eye of the Midnight Sun’s base, the reincarnation spell hit and the team I was with—Yuno, Klaus and Hamon, all had been taken over by elves’ spirits.” She glanced at Yuno, who nodded encouragingly. “They tried to kill me, Captain.”

Captain Vangeance looked upset at the news.

Mimosa continued speaking, without letting her Captain say anything yet, “And I…know that as a Magic Knight that I could die at any time and it would be my honor to die to protect my home, but it just made me think…think that the only reason you asked me to join the Golden Dawn was for Patri’s plan to sacrifice me. And I wonder if I really earned my spot here or if I was just used for my family name…again.”

“Mimosa,” said Captain Vangeance. He stood in front of her and bowed, saying, remorsefully, “I have been remiss in my duty as your Captain. When I heard that you refused a spot in the Crimson Lions and the Silver Eagles, I immediately asked you to join my squad. Your Healing Magic had already been well-known even at your young age. It never crossed my mind that I was putting you in danger because you were a royal. Patri had nothing to do with my decision to offer you a spot. I assure you that you deservedly have a place in the Golden Dawn. I am very sorry, Mimosa. I hope you can find in your heart to forgive me. And if you are in any way uncomfortable here, please tell me.”

“Captain Vangeance, please stop bowing,” said Mimosa, worriedly.

Her Captain stopped bowing, thankfully. He looked very upset and guilty. “I will make it up to you.”

Mimosa shook her head. “That’s unnecessary, Captain. I just wanted to know if I had been wanted here. And I am glad that I am.”

Captain Vangeance gave her a wobbly, awkward smile. “Nonetheless, I will be better to deserve your respect.”

Knowing that they were just going around in circles, Mimosa said, “Thank you, Captain.”

“No, thank you, Mimosa, for being honest with me,” said Captain Vangeance. “You and Yuno can always come to me if you have a problem.”

Mimosa smiled. She glanced at Yuno, who had been glaring at Captain Vangeance the entire time. She sighed, “Yuno! It’s fine!”

Yuno frowned. “Fine.”

Captain Vangeance smiled, amused. “I’m very glad that you two are good friends. Now, I think you two have training today. Shall I join you?”

“Yes, please, Captain,” said Yuno and Mimosa. It was always a good opportunity to train with a Captain.

Later when asked by Klaus why Captain Vangeance had joined Yuno and Mimosa in the training room today, neither Yuno nor Mimosa had the heart to tell their senior squadmate about the tough conversation with their Captain.

_~to be continued_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think.
> 
> I think that the third chapter will be about post-Spade Dark Triad Arc and it'll be out after the last episode of Black Clover.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think.
> 
> I don't know when the next chapter will be out.


End file.
